Calculating ROI of Ergonomic Improvements

Sometimes it can be a challenge to convince business leaders to invest in ergonomic work areas. Perhaps they’re put off by the cost, perhaps they don’t see the need, or maybe they recognize that ergonomic improvements would increase worker satisfaction and productivity, but are having trouble justifying the expenditure for updated tools or workstations.

The Cornell University Ergonomics Web put together an little online calculator that may help you make the case for investing in ergonomic improvements, by showing how long it will take to “pay back” any costs associated with new equipment.

Here’s a quick example:

Here, a worker has an annual salary of $50,000, and we assume that $1000 in ergonomic investment will improve their productivity by 10%.

The calculator shows that the pay-back time is 2.4 months, and there is a 500% return-on-investment in one year.